Well, the first day of CES is over and I’m well and truly shattered. I’ve been on my feet all day, walking from stand to stand, chatting to manufacturers about their new products.

What’s clear is that this year the show is a much busier affair than in 2009 – it’s hard to make your way around as there are so many people on the floor.

Last year’s CES was a more stripped-down and less glitzy event than in previous years, largely down to the global recession. However, this year some of the glamour and showbiz has made a welcome return. As one senior figure in the UK CE industry put it, “the Americans have come out to play again”.

This bodes well for the year ahead – and judging by the serious amount of cool kit on show, it’s going to be an exciting time for consumer electronics. All of the major players were showing off 3DTV sets and, most of them, but not all, were demonstrating 3D Blu-ray players. You couldn’t move for people in dark glasses crowded around booths watching 3D HD content.

I particularly enjoyed a 3D Blu-ray demo of Monsters vs Aliens, which I saw on the Samsung stand – very impressive. Also on the Samsung stand, I tried out the company’s new ‘Apps’ store, which lets users access and stream content on web-enabled TVs. Using the special remote control, I could easily access YouTube, Twitter, etc. In the UK, Samsung is joining forces with Lovefilm, to allow users to stream movies to their internet TV sets, and is also hoping to allow access to the BBC’s iPlayer.

E-books are also one of the big things here at CES, with a special separate zone dedicated to this new technology. Expect to see more of these products in 2010.

As Neil Jones, chief executive of Interead, the company responsible for the COOL-ER e-reader products, said: “As we have seen the e-reader market evolve over the past year, it has become clear that the e-reader is now a lifestyle device—not just a niche gadget.”

On the audio front, DAB chip set provider Frontier Silicon showed me a demo of a new prototype internet radio platform and module that will allow the user to personalise their wi-fi radio, including selecting local weather, news and traffic information on a colour touch-screen.

All in all, it was a very exciting first day at CES. And, in case you were wondering, the weather here is lovely and there’s plenty of news, but the traffic in Las Vegas is worse than ever.

seanhannam@ertgroup.co.uk